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US CO₂ Emissions per Capita vs US Federal Debt Outstanding
US CO₂ Emissions per Capita and US Federal Debt Outstanding correlate at r = +0.31 over 225 years (1800–2024), p < 0.0001. With the time trend removed, r = -0.69. Direction flips without the trend.
Verdict: Direction flips without the trend. The raw correlation is 0.31, but once each series' time trend is removed it becomes -0.69. The year-to-year movements run the opposite way to the long-run trends, so the headline number is misleading.
- Pearson r
- +0.31
- p-value
- < 0.0001
- Years compared (n)
- 225 (1800–2024)
- 95% confidence interval
- 0.19 to 0.43
- Correlation with the time trend removed
- -0.69
Sources
- US CO₂ Emissions per Capita (tonnes): Our World in Data. US CO₂ Emissions per Capita (Our World in Data: CO₂ emissions per capita).
- US Federal Debt Outstanding (USD): U.S. Treasury. Total US federal debt outstanding at the end of each fiscal year (U.S. Treasury Fiscal Data).
Related pairs
- US Renewable Energy Share vs US Federal Debt Outstanding (r = +0.99)
- US Wind Power Generation vs US Federal Debt Outstanding (r = +0.99)
- US Federal Debt Outstanding vs US GDP (current US$) (r = +0.97)
- US CO₂ Emissions per Capita vs US CO₂ Emissions per Capita (r = +0.97)
- US Federal Debt Outstanding vs US GDP per Capita (r = +0.95)
- Atmospheric Methane (global) vs US Federal Debt Outstanding (r = +0.95)
Correlation does not imply causation. How the verdict is worked out.